283 Tasting Notes

I really should have bought more of this. I didn’t receive my Fusion tea order yet but I only ordered a 10 cup sample size. I had only tried it once before placing my order and was still not head over heels in love. I enjoyed it the first time around but apparently not enough to order more. Moronic move.

It’s perfect for an evening when you want to curl up with a warm cup of comfort. To some, that cup of comfort might be a chocolate tea, or a chai. Although I enjoy those also, there’s just nothing like hazelnut for me. I used to put hazelnut creamer in my morning coffee all the time. This tea, with hazelnut creamer is just to die for.

Terri I know about those pancakes! I saw a note you wrote a couple of days ago where you mentioned making the pancakes. I thought it was awesome. I always love hearing about other people cooking, especially when they do it with love not just out of necessity.

I LOVE pancakes!
Usually I make them with Almond flour, but a 50/50 hazelnut almond mix is nice too. Today I did them with almond flour, adding cinnamon, nutmeg, orange peel…(I’m drooling now, just thinking about it…I just remembered there are a few leftovers!). All that was needed was Maple syrup, which I had!

Pancakes rock!
If this Harp Playing thing ever stops working for me, I should open a bed & breakfast. I’d just have to turn part of my house into a guest room, then people could come from all over to eat my pancakes & other foods, & I could serve tea, provide tours of St. Louis, take people on float trips, all kinds of fun things.

I do think we should plan a get together. A Steepster convention of sorts. Pick a place as equidistant from most as we can and do a weekend. Dude, it would be awesome. Not even a hotel or a place where we would sightsee. Just like a Lilith fair or Woodstock type of thing, or a womyn Michigan festival. I’d put money on this being a blast.

It’s not Christmas but so what? I wanted to try this because it’s the only chocolate peppermint I have and I’m in the mood. Thanks for this sample goes to Dexter3657

Sadly, I find it weak. I’ll try more tea next time but right now it’s not too minty, not too chocolatey and really not much of anything. It’s pleasant but really weak both in flavour and in mouthfeel. I was thinking it might be something along peppermint patty but it’s not.

Maybe I shouldn’t have read all the other notes as it might have given me a bias. But no, because if I hadn’t, I might have expected this to be even mintier. Most notes agree that it’s more vanilla chocolate than mint. It would have been perfect had it been.

Will add more leaf next time and revisit note if warranted.

Preparation

My mouth hurts like a sonofabitch (for those who just started following, I had oral surgery yesterday) even with all the ibuprofen I’m taking. So I sent my partner and temporary nurse to the liquor store to get some vodka. Imma brew this hot, ice it and booze it up for a nice anesthetic. :)

Will let you know how it goes.

18 hours later

This tea promises Passionfruit and it does give you just that starting with the nose of the dry leaf to the aroma, colour and flavour of the liquor. Aided slightly by artificial Passionfruit flavour and a little tangy for me because of the hibiscus. Before you write this off because of the hibiscus, I’ll tell you it doesn’t bother too much. Personally I don’t mind hibiscus but for those who do, its presence is not agressive. As i mentioned, it lends a tangy-ness to the blend but that’s what sweeteners are for. Brewed following label instructions and poured over ice does make a pretty good cocktail should you happen to have vodka lying around.

I have T3s from my last oral surgery in November (I’m on an ongoing quest to line the pockets of oral surgeons everywhere) but to tell you the truth ibuprofen works better for me because it reduces inflammation as well, not just painkiller.

i was going to write and ask how you were feeling! not sure this tea would help…. its awesome but pretty acidic. a chamomile might help because its a diuretic and will eliminate some swelling…. feel better.

Nobody rated this or logged this. Not sure a newbie should be the first to do so… Ah, the pressure. Especially since Rooibos is my least favourite of teas. However, Dexter3657 sent this to me and I can’t possibly not try it! Rude and wasteful, right?

It’s a coffee flavoured Rooibos so it gets points from me right off the bat. And the thing is that whatever is going on in this blend masks the Rooibos quite well so I’d say this is a better introduction to Rooibos for those who are just not sure.

There’s coffee on the nose, and in the aroma and flavour of the brewed liquor. I do find it a little on the weak side at 1.5 tsp for 8 oz with near boiling water. It brews a clear caramel brown liquor. That’s the best I can do without sounding too pretentious.

It’s one of the better Rooibos I’ve had even if a little on the weak side.

Dang. Someone at work said this was their favourite DAVIDs tea. I don’t know the woman at all so of course I didn’t buy this because of what she said. I bought it, coincidentally, just the weekend before having had this conversation. I didn’t open the tea until today.

To me it smells and tastes like banana bread. Not the banana part, but the spices part. Although I taste nutmeg not cinnamon. I can just see the moist pieces of banana bread in my mind as I drink this. The colour screws it up for me, I really don’t know why it has to be pink.

Not my favourite, not by far. Glad to have tried it but sample size was enough. Moving on.

I cold brewed this for 24 hours in a pitcher. No infuser, just free leaves and cold water. It is way better than the hot and iced version but we’re still far from friends. Still has that mild bitterness. What is going on? Flavour is good though, this could be so yummy with a white base maybe?

I will be enjoying a few cups of this courtesy of Dexter3657 . It probably would have been a while before purchasing Verdant on my own since a) it is a little pricy and b) I would have been afraid I’m not ready for such goodness.

I don’t know much and since the bag says laoshan village chai — black I brewed it like a black tea. Afterwards I read all about the stovetop method and also infusing milk but alas, too late. I probably would have been too lazy to do the stovetop thing.

I like it, the spices are nice and everything, but can I ask why this tea tastes almost like milk at the end of the sip of the 1st steep?!?

The second steep doesn’t have the milky taste, it’s all ginger and cardamom.

I really wish I liked milk so I could drink this like I’m supposed to.

I should add — although it has nothing to do with tea — that it’s my last tea for the evening, and possibly the last in the next 24 hours. I’m having oral surgery first thing tomorrow and I’m supposed to stop drinking/eating for at least 8 hours before. And afterwards, well, one can assume that I might not be thinking about tea right away. So that’s why I picked this, I wanted to have something good!

I had a cup of this 17 days ago according to tea log. Don’t worry, I don’t have a spreadsheet or anything. Can you imagine?!?

I didn’t like it then but I thought it was because of the Rooibos. I have since made good friends with Rooibos so I decided to try it again as this is my first honest to goodness sipdown weekend. I placed a rather large DT order last night — large quantity-wise not necessarily price. I basically bought 650 grams of tea, the most I ever bought in one shot so I’m freaking out a little.

This tea is still not for me. The first steep of 1.5 tsp for 3 minutes was too strong. Not astringent, just strong and reminiscent of smoky bacon. Of course, maple at play. I don’t mind maple at all but there’s something weird about this. I left the first steep in the pot and put the second steep on top, and sweetened with maple syrup. Makes sense, right? It tastes better and I can finish the pot this way — I was worried I’d have to dump it and I hate doing that — but still there is something about it I do not like. And there’s just a touch of bitterness barely there but it’s there and I don’t dig it.

Thanks goes to Dexter3657 for this generous sample that is not yet a sipdown.

This is delightful. I can’t articulate what is it about it that I like. I like the spices for sure. I’ve only had cheap bagged chai before but I like the cardammom and the cinammon. Ever put a pinch of cardamom powder in your smoothies? or sprinkle just a pinch on top before drinking a smoothie? try it sometimes.

As for this tea, I sweetened it and added creamer. I tried it without them first but I figured for the sake of emulating authenticity I shall do as the Romans. Or in this case, the indians.

My goal is to collect a bunch of chai and make some for my brother-in-law who, after a two-week trip to India, said he misses the chai there most, and that he has not been able to find any here that tastes anything like it. And they make it with milk. I hate milk though, what am I going to do?!?

You could experiment with different kinds and you don’t have to use full milk . I’m not sure about all of India but in Rajhastan the Chai Wallah’s usually used water buffalo milk which is thinner than cows milk to make Chai. You could also experiment with other types of Chai as well. I had a green tea chai in Jaipur made with Kashmiri type spicing lots of cardamom and a bit of cinnamon. However if you’re going the traditional route you need to use milk. I know how you feel though I don’t drink milk either.

Its an amazing, fascinating and very diverse place. I met some amazing people there. Try to learn a little of the local language in whatever region you’ll be spending the most time in. You’ll be able to bargain for better prices. You’ll never get local price but you can at least over hear what the local price is and negotiate down. I ended up learning a little be of the hindi script because it allowed me to read the non-deluxe bus schedules. My cousin who worked in India for two placements had me read culture shock India before I went in order to better understand cultural differences and communication. I spent most of my time in central and Northern India but I have a standing invitation to stay in Mumbai with my friends family and from there I hope to explore a bit of the south.

yyz I’m going with a friend who was born and raised there. It’ll make it a little easier :) she has relatives all over , still, and we will be visiting and staying with them. Sounds like you had a blast.

That’s great it will make tings so much easier and I’m sure you’ll be invited to some great parties. I did have a blast. I travelled with my cousin for a little while, volunteered for a little while and basically was adopted by some friends I made my first week there. I travelled shared experiences with them for a little while and a little on my own. To be quite honest it’s up there with one of the best experiences of my life. I find with India people either love it or hate it. I’ve never met anyone who is neutral. I hope you love it.

I might have killed it a little (water too hot) because it’s a teensy bit bitter but I like it. And I like it just as is! Now this is likely because I eat a lot of sushi and all the Japanese restaurants serve green tea that tastes little like this. And they never give you sugar. So I got used to drinking it sans sucre. Hello familiar taste! Now where’s my sushi?!?

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Bio

I started drinking loose leaf tea in the spring of 2013 (why do we feel compelled to mark the date of tea drinking somewhat like addicts counting their sobriety days?)

Never been much into tea before. Growing up in Romania, tea was something mom made for you when you were sick. As an adult, my hot beverage of choice has been coffee, both flavoured and regular. I’ve recently stumbled upon Teavana and DAVIDs TEA and quickly got addicted to the latter. Then came steepster and all else followed.

Formerly a mathematician and insurance adjuster, I gave up the corporate world and am now a professional chef. I drink wine and sometimes cheat on it with tea.